Roses (Rosa spp.) symbolize love and beauty and come with a sharp reminder that often love and beauty can be painful. A rose by any other name will still prick your fingers, or so the old saying goes. Or does it? 

Roses can be found blooming all around us in the late spring and summer in Western North Carolina.

On Friday June 5, Haywood Waterways Association will lead a moderate 6-mile hike in the Sunburst area of Haywood County. Shannon Rabby, Instructor of Fish and Wildlife Management Technology, Sciences and Natural Resources, will share his knowledge of local trees and woody plants on our way to a waterfall. 

The event is free for Haywood Waterways’ members and a $5 donation for nonmembers; memberships start at $25. 

During the sunny mid-morning hours on the Tennessee border in Pisgah National Forest, a small group of volunteers at the Appalachian Trail’s rugged, remote Lemon Gap trailhead prepare for battle — not with litterbugs, poachers or vandals but instead with one of the many invasive plant species that threaten the region’s delicate natural ecosystems. 

I would never wish upon anyone a plague of locusts. Unless, that is, I’m wishing for you to come across a dense stand of bristly locust (Robinia hispida) shrubs in bloom along a trail or edge of the woods. Then, by all means, may this kind of pox be upon you. 

At first glance, the stems of bristly locust look mean and dangerous, covered in what appear to be numerous spines and prickles. But they are actually soft, bristly hairs that give this plant both the common name of bristly locust and the epithet in the botanical name of “hispida.” 

Adam Bigelow of Bigelow’s Botanical Excursions is giving folks an opportunity to learn about botany while enjoying an adult beverage.

This fun and informative series of classes will be held at Sante Wine Bar in downtown Sylva over the course of six Tuesday evenings from 6-8 p.m. There will be wine service at the classes. Cost of the class does not include alcohol purchases. Classes will be limited to 25 people per session. 

When the members of the Mountain View Garden Club started researching when the club was formed, old newspaper clippings made it difficult to determine whether it was 1950 or 1951. So, appropriately enough, they had to do a little more digging to find the answer — which turned out to be 1951. 

“The article was from an April 1951 edition of The Mountaineer, and it said, ‘Next month will be an initial meeting of a potential new garden club,’” said Julia Bruijn, the club’s current president. 

The other day as I was sitting inside with cats on my lap, I heard the sound of a miniature helicopter go whooshing by the window behind my head. While it was the first time I had heard it this year, the sound was unmistakable. I knew the hummingbirds were back. 

I wasn’t surprised though, as the plants I like to call hummingbird calendars had already announced that their return was imminent.

Recent rainfall was not enough to offer relief from worsening drought conditions. According to the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council, extreme drought conditions have expanded across most of the Piedmont and in Western North Carolina, and one county is now considered to be in exceptional drought. 

According to the DMAC’s classification’s issued Thursday, Union County is in an exceptional drought, 61 counties are in extreme drought and most of the rest of the state is in severe drought. 

Lake Junaluska’s Spring Plant Sale will be 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 2, at the Nanci Weldon Memorial Gym.  

For sale will be a few thousand plants, including an assortment of annuals, perennials, herbs and vegetables, hanging baskets and several varieties of native plants from the Corneille Bryan Native Garden, said Melissa Marshall, Lake Junaluska grounds director. 

Drought conditions continue to increase in severity across North Carolina. Thirty counties are now experiencing extreme drought, and most counties are experiencing severe or moderate drought, according to the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council.

For counties in extreme drought, water systems are advised to follow their Water Shortage Response Plan and adhere to water use reduction measures.